Equal opportunities and diversity are two different things. ‘Equal opportunities is described as the absence of discrimination, as in the workplace, based on race, colour, age, gender, national origin, religion, or mental or physical disability,’ Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (2011). Diversity is the state of being diverse; variety, a range of different things, Dictionary.com (2011). A company needs diversity and individuality as if everyone had similar personalities conflict would occur, individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and cultures tend to have different ideas which would help expand the creativity of an organisation. Therefore it is key to have a variety of different individuals in an organisation however the individual needs to fit into the team and the job title. Equal opportunities remove discrimination and are seen as a human resources issue.
The legislation supporting equal opportunities has increased over the years. Listed below are legal acts that are enforced in the U.K which deal with harassment and discrimination.
The Equal Pay Act 1970 amended (1983)- This act ensures that persons of the opposite sex in the same employment are being provided with the same pay when doing like work, work is rated as equivalent, and work is proved as equal value. However if an employer can prove the difference in pay or benefits are not gender related then this act is not relevant.
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 amended (1986)- This act applies to persons of both genders and all ages including children. It prohibits sex discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods, services and facilities. It also stops victimisation to those who have exercised their rights in the Equal Pay Act 1970.
Sexual Orientation Act 2003- This act makes it illegal to discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation in the supply of goods, facilities and services. This regulation positively impacts those of a lesbian, gay and bisexual community.
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 amended (2003)- This act gave disabled people new opportunities in employment, access to goods, facilities and services, education and public transport. The requirements were to ensure ‘reasonable requirements’ were provided in organisations and service providers e.g. ramps. The 2003 amendment provided changes to employment provisions. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 was then designed to extend and clarify the rights of disabled people. It extended the definition of disability, gave protection to those in the public service and introduced house adaptation regulations.
Race Regulations Act 1976 amended (2000)- This act makes is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their race, colour, ethnicity, nationality and citizenship. The amended act included public authorities had to promote racial equality. The 2003 Act incorporated the E.U. Race Directive which further focused on equality between those of different race.
Religion or Belief Regulations Act 2003- This act protects individuals from discrimination and harassment about their religion while at work. It includes employment relationship, recruitment, pay, training, working conditions, promotion and dismissal.
Age Regulations Act 2006- These made ageism, age prejudice and age-based decisions in the workplace unlawful and covers direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Stereotypes of older and younger people:
ASDA had a benchmark to increase the amount of staff aged over 50 from 15.4% up to 20% this was to support the company’s values and the staff were a good representative of their customer base as all ages use ASDA as their local store. ASDA has a good history of employing elder staff compared to other superstores however it’s still not good enough for them. To increase this percentage they removed the age requirement of job applications asking an age and abolished the retirement at 65 restrictions. This then made it possible for the elder to stay working at ASDA easily however they needed to increase the amount of over 50’s to apply therefore they advertised grandparent and Benidorm leave. This leave ‘allows all employees with grandchildren to take a seven-day break after the birth of a child. Those wanting to help further with the new arrival can take up to three months' unpaid extended leave at any given time in addition to their holiday entitlement.’ (Nicole Martin, 2000). Benidorm leave is ‘up to three months unpaid leave regardless of job, contracted hours or length of employment while treating service as continuous.’ (Laterlife.com). Other ways they have promoted the ‘Goldies’ campaign ‘is to send recruitment teams to coffee mornings, pension queues, bingo halls and other places where they reckon seniors hang out.’ (Laterlife.com) The ‘Goldies’ campaign is targeting individuals who have celebrated their personal golden anniversary (over 50’s). In stores there have been rewards for stores that go that extra mile with the campaign, briefings to the whole company as well as in store briefings and held events such as tea dances and open days. The campaign was extremely successful not only increase the number of elder employers but also bettering the company with results such as ‘absenteeism drop to levels that are a third lower than its national average; labour turnover rates at one per cent less than ASDA average and a more flexible and better motivated workforce.’ (Laterlife.com).
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